Imagine your Grade 4 social studies teacher comes into class one day with a question: What if we tried to get postcards from all over the world? And then she did.
That’s what teacher Stephanie Nadeau did at her Labrador Straits Academy in L’Anse au Loup, which is on the southern tip of Labrador, Canada.
Ms. Nadeau, as he students call her, set out a social media post in November 2021 that got it going.
And the cards started coming in. Orla Hegarty posted an appeal to an international audience, and I know lots of people who sent cards (I did…and so did my grandson, Jamo). By the time the CBC did an interview with Stephanie that was published on January 23, 2022, the class had already received more than 100 postcards from around the world. And that number grew after the publication of that article.
Here’s a display wall Ms. Nadeau created for her students at Labrador Straits Academy.
In this episode, I chat with Stephanie about how the project started, what additional goals she has for the project, and the excitement the students have with learning about the world.
Additional topics discussed: Postcrossing, pictorial cancellations, postcards from Africa, and postcards from the Beijing Winter Olympics.
I just finished writing my postcard! I remember Orla posting about this but thought I missed the boat. So happy that I did not! I’m sending a Coney Island postcard. I hope everyone has fun learning about this southern part of Brooklyn that I grew up by! Thanks for another intriguing podcast, Frank!
Thats so nice of you, Lisa! They live on the southern tip of Labrador, and you have a link to the southern tip of Brooklyn. They are going to be delighted to get a Coney Island card. That’s so fun. And what an iconic place. You’re terrific. Thank you Lisa.
Kids will remember Stephanie forever! This was such a lovely show. I felt like a little girl when I saw my postcard on their wall! Ha!
That’s the wonderful part of this — this is teaching that last. It will stay with them. And I know the feeling — there’s a lenticular card I sent that I saw and was so happy.